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A Map of the Jewett South Berwick Property
as it probably appeared
during Sarah Orne Jewett's early childhood.
The rough rectangle of property to the right of center on this
map shows the Theodore F. Jewett property before 1854. Theodore
F. Jewett was Sarah Orne Jewett's grandfather.
Within this rectangle is the dwelling house
(c. 1774), with all of its later additions. There is a
garden behind the house, and then a cider house, stable, shed,
and barn. Below the center of the area is a well.
Down the street to Portsmouth (now Main Street) from the
dwelling house is the T. [Thomas] Jewett store, from which
Captain Jewett and his brother, Thomas, sold imported goods.
The map conforms to other descriptions of the
Jewett property in Sarah Jewett's writing. Wendy Pirsig of
the Old Berwick Historical Society points out that it clearly
shows the property before 1854, when the Jewett-Eastman house
was built and became the residence of Sarah Jewett's
family. The Jewett-Eastman House now stands approximately
within the area set off by dotted lines at the bottom right of
the Jewett block, with the well at the top left corner.
Other evidence on the map suggests that it dates from the middle
1830s.
This map is not oriented to the
compass. The dwelling house looks down the street going
"to Portsmouth" and faces almost exactly South.
This is a detail from a larger map, MS Am 1743.26 (12). The detail is reprinted here by permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University, to whom it was given by Dr. Theodore Jewett Eastman, Sarah Jewett's nephew. This detail may not be reproduced without permission of the Houghton Library.